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12 Of The Best Fashion Films of 2017

Six years ago, very few people knew about or made fashion films. That’s changing fast. The number of fashion film festivals is growing every year and festivals like the La Jolla International Fashion Film Festival which is the biggest worldwide, is attracting major attention from Hollywood. In 2018 it may be a new category at the Academy awards.

So, what are fashion films? Some see fashion films as advertising, particularly the one’s from the big fashion houses like Chanel, Prada and Etro, but I would argue that even when they are, these films are bringing us into relationships with clothing in entirely new ways. They take us into worlds of beauty, adventure, revenge, inspiration and dreams and let’s face it, that’s why we wear clothes. We dress to explore who we are, dare to be different or connect with people by fitting in. We dream of beautiful clothes the way we dream of careers and success (partially to buy the clothes?). Take films like The Magic Kingdom which won best picture, where the story of Sergio Rossi shoes is told through three modern princesses cavorting around the factory. We are entertained, charmed and transported into what it means to love shoes rather than just being told we should buy them.

On the other end of the spectrum, are the artistic fashion films that don’t support the sale of any product but rather seek to create experiences. While some of these are good, the majority fail to engage due to lack of storytelling and an over reliance on our attention span for dramatic make-up, bored looking models, a moving element (water, smoke, wind) depressing music and slow-motion editing.

The best of course, is when films manage to do both, transport us on a journey, inspire us with breathtaking visuals and connect us with great stories. The following are the best in all three categories from the La Jolla Fashion Film Festival. They represent the heart and sweat of directors from Italy, China, South America, Germany, France and Denmark who are largely creating this new medium out of love and out of their own pockets. The films deal with issues we are all familiar with, our nostalgia for the past, the power and beauty of nature and the human form, our fears of the future, and women coming into their own.

BEST ENGAGING SUBJECT MATTER

Statures of Gods by Director Arthur Valverde

Statures of Gods won for Best Cinematography. The film’s slow motion editor of dancers against a backdrop of Paris allows us to delve into the abandon and beauty of movement that is possible with the human body. A stunning and inspiring visual montage.

Statures of GodsFashion Film Network

The Magic Kingdom by Director Bruno Miotto

The Magic Kingdom won Best Picture and is a playful romp through Sergio Rossi’s shoe making process and pulls from Alice in Wonderland and Snow White. Great editing builds up to the magic moment when each of the three models receives her beautifully crafted Sergio Rossi shoes. Stunning visual storytelling and color scheme as well as shoes most women would die for guarantees this is a film audiences will love.

The Magic KingdomFashion Film Network

Elemental Beauty by Elena Kovalenko

It’s rare that a fashion film inspired by nature actually works as more than a beautiful montage of photographs, but Elemental Beauty succeeds and then some. Based on the four elements of fire, water, earth and air, the film won Best Editing and you can see why. The interplay between each dancer/model, the elements and music is mesmerizing and so powerful it will leave you breathless. A true feast for the eyes and the spirit.

Elemental Beauty Fashion FilmFashion Film Network

Robots by directors Josh Brandao and Nicolai Kornum

Robots is a dystopian foray into a very real and very near future in which cyborgs and humans are impossible to differentiate. A world in which appearances are fluid and changeable at the press of a button and the lines between reality and unreality are completely blurred and the only truth that exists are the things we create with our desires. Chilling but also beautiful.

Robots by Josh BrandaoFashion Film Network

Think Outside the Box by Doug Clayton

Think Outside the Box won for Best Sound for its use of natural sounds for the creation of an NBA South America Spot but it’s visuals and storytelling are great too. The scene jumps between a tattoo parlor and the buzz of the ink gun to the sound of a skateboard. Basketball references are so subtle you could also miss them which allows you to focus on the characters. It’s a film that captures the feel of every day youth, its grit and determined individualization, not just the glamor of the basketball courts. Dynamic and a must watch.

Think Outside the Box by Doug ClaytonFashion Film Network

BIG BUDGET/SPECTACULAR VISUALS

Infinite Path by Francesco Torricella

Infinite Path is one of those videos I could watch every day. Created for Etro, it won for Best Visual Effects. No surprise as it’s visuals are like a cross between Last Samurai and Avatar. The film begins with a Samurai figure trotting across a barren snowy landscape. A white masked figure flickers in and out of screen. Hunting the warrior? Leading him? We aren’t sure. When our spiritual warrior gets to the top of a mountain he finds a golden rope which he climbs into the sky where the figure again appears. A match up begins amidst floating rocks and pillars only to explode into a floating scene of gods. A truly breathtaking smorgasbord of images.

Infinite Path Film for EtroFashion Film Network

Casamorati by director Michelle Bizzi

Casamorati which won for Best Costume for XERJOFF Perfumes is a beautiful film that feels a little bit like Alice and Wonderland and Marie Antoinette. Its historical approach is a feast their eyes full of amazing clothes. The story is about a 1920s woman, who, bored by life, walks through a mirror into the past. As she dances, she is whirled forward through different time periods only to finally come back to her own time where she realizes her world is also beautiful and interesting.

Casamorati PerfumesFashion Film Network

The Storm by Director Daniela Federici

The Storm won for Best Art Direction. It’s a film/advertisement for Badgley Mischka eveningwear. It’s an icy and elegant ode to the beauty and strength of women set against a backdrop of icy frozen lakes and blowing snow. Visually stunning, powerful, and sure to delight those who love to see gorgeous dresses.

The Storm by Daniela FredericiFashion Film Network

SMALL BUDGET/CREATIVE & ORIGINAL

Cocoon Redux by director Maria Burns

Cocoon Redux is one of those films where descriptions won’t do it justice. You just have to see it. The film transforms the static nature of editorial into movement through a somewhat jerky stop-action visual story between two characters. In the film, the backdrop becomes an active character, circles roll in and become holes and the model floats above a table. A bag of throwaway clothes zip through the air to become a outfits. The artistic burnt sienna coloring, rustic backdrops and whimsical interplay between characters is timed and edited perfectly. It’s the first fashion film I’ve seen to truly bridge the gap between editorial and storytelling without straying to far into either.

Cocoon ReduxMaria Burns

Proclamation Punctuation by director Sewra G Kidane

Proclamation Punctuation is a quirky, clever film that follows a single character dressed a la 1980s Thierry Mugler or Grace Jones who walks you expertly through the reasons why she loves exclamation points and not periods. You might think such a topic would tire quickly, but you’d be wrong. The expressions and timing of the lead actress make this story unique, thought provoking and hilarious.

Proclamation Punctuation by Sewra G KidaneFashionFilmNetwork

Holy Shit, It Fits! by director Petra Singer

Holy Shit, it Fits is a wonderful and empowering romp via fashion animation through the daily struggles women face with their wardrobe. Formerly a fashion editor, Petra is now a designer with a brand that carries the same name as the film. Both are aimed at helping women to feel good about their bodies with clothes that fit and films that allow women to laugh about it through her charming illustrations. She also has an App in the works. Find me a woman doesn’t regularly try on at least 5 outfits getting ready to go out, thinking “ugh where did that fat come from?” and “seriously? No!” If you can, I salute you.

Holy Sh*t It Fits FilmPetra Springer

Tian and Mimi’s Summer by director Eva Chen

Given that China is getting into the fashion film market, it’s going to be interesting to see how the values and tastes of a very different culture impact this genre. Tian and Mimi’s Summer keeps it simple. We follow two girls, one in a white unicorn mask as they walk, play hide and go seek and generally spend time together, but through colored film and night scenes of city lights manages to be poignant with a sense of both the sweetness and danger of youth.

Tian & Mimis Summer by Eva ChenFashion Film Network

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